


Tales of the Wastes

by Aquaticnaho, SilverSilence14



Series: MCSM AU Series [3]
Category: MCSM, Minecraft (Video Game)
Genre: Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rating May Change, Rating: M, Tags Contain Spoilers, Tags May Change
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-24
Updated: 2018-04-02
Packaged: 2019-03-23 01:27:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,398
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13776771
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aquaticnaho/pseuds/Aquaticnaho, https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilverSilence14/pseuds/SilverSilence14
Summary: See original concepts, deleted scenes that didn't make the cut for the final Crawl Out Through the Fallout! Learn origins of favorite chapters and why pieces didn't make it to the story you now see!Will also include bonus adventures and oneshots!





	1. First Concept (The Vault)

**Author's Note:**

> So 'The Vault' was the first rough concept for the team finding Jesse. It was never completed.  
> We hadn't officially decided at the time if this AU would be a fic. You can see some of the final pieces in this draft carried over from here. The primary difference between the two openings is the lack of development and Jesse's beginning 300 years is not present.  
> But this is the first concept that would eventually lead to COTTFO.

“You can’t go any faster?”

“Aiden I swear to God, you ask me one more time and we’re going to use Gill’s method of opening this door.” Maya snarled, “And I elect we.use your thick skull as a battering ram.”

Aiden flipped her off.

“Guys, lay off.” Lukas warned, “We’re so close to getting in there, lets not lose our heads.”

“We’ve wasted resources is what we’ve done,” Aiden scoffed, slamming his fist against the door. His metal hand clanging against the titanium, “Two months we’ve been clearing out this fucking facility. It better be worth it.”

Lukas flashed him a look just as Maya cackled triumphantly. “Got it!”

“That’s our girl!” Gill laughed in the corner, “I knew the moment I started unpacking my bombs you’d get it.”

“Don’t I always,” Maya grinned as the door slid open.

Lukas smiled and patted her on the shoulder, “Be ready guys, just because the door was sealed doesn’t mean there wasn’t breach inside. We don’t need a bite from a radioactive rat.”

The team nodded in a silent agreement, loading their weapons and cautiously entering the cold and foggy room. 

There were crates, a potential sign of goods to sell. A few sealed of round containers, but no sign of anything extremely valuable.

“Guys this isn’t a weapons vault.” Gill frowned.

“Fuck.” Aiden said suddenly from farther ahead.

Lukas jogged over, “What’s wrong.”

Aiden pointed.

Tubes, dozens all liningn the wall. Some covered in layers of ice, others full with slowly melting liquid.

Every single one of them, had a person inside.

“Guys I don’t think we can sell this.” Gill mumbled.

Aiden was cursing, “I knew this was some damn research facility. Fuck!”

“Aiden calm down,” Lukas sighed.

Aiden glared, storming off to the other end.

“Maybe we can find meds,” Maya said, “To keep people under like this would require drugs.”

Lukas joined her in front of a containment unit. “Aren’t they cyro?”

“No, bacta.” the female explained, “But they were frozen over. The facility’s main power must have failed when the bombs fell. The heavy nuclear winter that followed would have put everything on ice.”

“So when we got the power back on, and nothing worked,” Lukas mumbler, “It must have directed the power here.”

“It was probably top prioity.”

Lukas wiped the frost off the bacta tube’s nearby control panel.

System Error: Life Support Systems Failure.

“Lot a good it did.”

“They all say that,” Gill walked by, “Least the ones I’ve checked. Hard to keep nuclear fallout in the systems plan eh?”

Lukas looked at the bodies beyond the foggy glass and cringed. “Yeah…”

“Maybe we can salvage some parts?” Aiden mumbled.

“There are people in there,” Lukas.frowned.

“And they’re dead.” Aiden scoffed, “Besides, who knows if they were even people. They probably were tested on.”

Lukas’s temper flared, “Would you quit being such a di- woah!”

A patch of ice took Lukas down and he crashed hard his gun going off. It fired into a nearby control panel. Sending the system’s alarms blaring.

“Bacta Tank 32 Release Activated.”

Shit, Lukas thought.

“Warning, System Failure. Emergency Ejection Initiated.”

The tank’s lid flew open, not even allowing the liquid to drain. Slimy fluids spilled everywhere and Lukas scrambled up, trying to not touch it.

A body fell from the tank, a young male. He was about the same age as Lukas. Dark brown hair, slender in some places. In the splint second Lukas saw his face, he swore he saw the other’s eyes open.

The male hit the floor with a hard thud, body stiff and immobile from restraints.

“Holy shit!”

“Lukas what did you do?!”

Lukas moved over to the body, perplexed by why the person was restrained in such a way. Had….had he been unwilling?

“Lukas get away from it!”

That’s when Lukas saw it, “Guys! He’s alive!”

“He’s what?!” Gill gaped.

Lukas dropped to his knees, quickly unlocking the wrist cuffs through the tangle of hoses and cables. “He’s breathing!” he flipped the male over onto his back holding him in his arms.

Maya dropped to her knees next to him, able to see the shaky rise and falls of his chest, “How could he still be alive?”

“I don’t know,” Lukas mumbled as he gently pulled free needles from the stranger’s skin, “We don’t even know how long he’s been under.”

Aiden had moved over to the dripping tank, wiping off some residue on the side. He went white, “Fuck! Lukas we have to put him back!”

“What?!”

“This tank says PAMA!”


	2. The Fight (Concept)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 'The Fight' was the original rough draft for Lukas and Aiden's throw down. We knew we wanted the two boys to go at it, an incident that would lead to the PAMA kidnapping and escape sequence.  
> Originally the gang was going to be constantly running. PAMA would have placed a bounty on their heads. But after deciding to amp up the universal hatred and fear of PAMA this concept was dropped as most would rather not work of PAMA.  
> Isa's close relationship with Aiden was not developed for this sequence as we were still working out kinks in characters and Ground Town' s layout and standing was still to be established.  
> We still hadn't figured out when we were putting Petra in either which is why she is not mentioned.  
> The major difference between this scene and the final cut is the ferocity of the fight. Aiden in this draft is more sick of running and Lukas 's rage itself is rather muted.  
> We felt the final cut worked much better with Jesse's attempted apology being the best trigger for the fight. Aiden's fear of nearly losing Isa driving him to blame Jesse and inevitably Lukas. While Lukas himself his driven by his own fears and trying to prove he cares for the others while protecting Jesse.

"This is the final straw Lukas, he has to go!”

“We got away Aiden! Everything will be okay,”

Jesse stopped walking down the hall, uneasily moving closer to the cracked open door.

“Okay?!  _ Okay?!”  _ Aiden raged. “Since when has any of this, been fucking okay?! People we’re almost killed today! Again!”

“We didn’t allow that to happen!” Lukas protested.

Jesse peeked through as Aiden aggressively pointed a finger at Lukas, “We have lost our  _ home.  _ We have every damn raider in the wastes after us and the bounty on our heads. Maya’s been hurt, and so has Gill! We are endangering every person who is helping us! PAMA nearly destroyed Ground Town! Because  _ you  _ won’t give them fucking Jesse!”

Jesse cringed.

Lukas turned red with rage. “He can help the people out here! Are you saying that’s not a good cause?!”

“PAMA is hitting us with everything they have! All because you have to help your special snowflake!”

“So it’s just a help yourself kinda world now?!”

“It always has been! It’s killed or be killed out here Lukas, or get a fucking arm ripped off!!!”

“And who’s fault is it you lost that limb!” Lukas snapped out.

Aiden took a step back, and Lukas did too; stunned by his own words.

“It was……” The former took a shaky breath, “You know what?  _ Fine. _ I get it now.”

“Aiden-”

“No! It’s fine. You can keep helping Jesse, whatever.” Aiden gritted out, “But  _ I  _ for one am not going to let the people I care about get hurt for him.I’m done. Go help your boyfriend. I can see what really matters to you now.”

“Fine! Leave see if I care!”

“You clearly never did!”

Jesse scrambled away from the door, just as Aiden slammed it open. 

“Aiden wait!” he said.

Aiden didn’t address him, already zipping up his jacket.

“Aiden!”

He had to run after the retreating male, only catching up with him well beyond the confines of their hiding place.

“Aiden!”

“Go back Jesse!”

“Aiden! Lukas is your friend! You can’t-”

Aiden whipped around, and Jesse skidded to a stop in front of the taller male. “He’s helping you too much to acknowledge that anymore!”

“Then I’ll leave!” Jesse pressed, “I don’t want people to get hurt because of me!”

“Too late! Besides...he’d never….” Aiden turned away. “Just go back Jesse.”

“I don’t want you to separate over me. I know you don’t like me and-”

“I never- ghk!”

Jesse stopped chasing after as Aiden froze, he watched as Aiden shakily pulled a three inch tranquilizer dart from his side.

Aiden looked at Jesse, already staggering, “J-Jesse-ru-”

Another dart hit the male and he dropped like a rock.

“Aiden!” Jesse went to run to the fallen male, “Aid-”

Strong arms yanked Jesse back, a hand clamped over his mouth. Jesse screamed, muffled. A sickly sweet smell invading his senses. 

_ NO! _

The last thing he saw before passing out  was a uniformed man, approaching the unconscious Aiden. The patch on his shoulder bright and bold in four letters.

_ PAMA. _


	3. Blood Harvest Alternate Scene

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Boy where to begin with Blood Harvest. We knew we wanted to hurt Jesse in a fatal way, to reveal his healing traits.  
> Deciding when and how was a bit of a process.  
> The original plan it would happen right before the team actually got inside Ground Town. But as we got closer we realized it would mute Isa and the other's arrival too much.   
> The other issue was the execution. Do we use raiders? An enderman attack?  
> We picked both.  
> The section you are going to see is an alternate scene with Jesse and Blake. We called this the Knife Variant. Where Blake was more violent over sexual. But we took his attitude to Jesse during their first confrontation and decided the assault would be better fit to his character - poor Jesse.  
> Enjoy!

**_Warnings:_ **   


__ _Cursing_

 

Jesse awoke screaming.

He remembered being at the stall, seeing Lukas helping the older woman. He thought it was so sweet how kind he was to everyone. It was endearing how much Lukas cared and helped in anyway he could no matter if he knew you or not.

There had been footsteps behind him. But that was no cause for alarm, the market was a busy place, Jesse thought nothing of the sound.

Then there was a hand over his mouth, and before he could even scream Jesse felt the sharp prick on his neck and everything went dark.

So it was natural when he awoke -knowing things were wrong- to finish that scream. He let out a sharp loud cry thrashing about, panicking as he failed to move very far.

Strong hands with tight grips held him down, dropping him in the cold snow, but still holding him tight.

“Fuck!” someone said, “I thought you drugged him?!”

“I  _ did  _ drug him!”

“Let me go!” Jesse screamed, lurching against the hands holding him tight, as he was dragged across the snowy and rocky ground. “STOP!”

“God dammit hold him tighter!” one of the men said.

“I’m trying he’s kicking too much.”

Jesse cried out in pain as a fist made contact with his face, his teeth biting down on his tongue and his whole world blurring in pain and foggy from the fading drugs, “Someone help-mmmph!”

A hand clamped firmly over his mouth, the hand covered in filthy rags to protect the fingers from Jesse’s teeth. The teeth that he did attempt to use as the thick fingers shoved into his mouth, stifling his cries for help. Another arm yanked Jesse’s own arms behind his back, pulling them firmly against one of his attacker’s chest. The second man took a tight hold of Jesse’s legs. They together hefted him up, carrying him onward towards their destination. 

Jesse realized in despair during his struggle that he was now outside Ground Town, tucked against the rocky cliff face of the mountain and quickly being carried towards the dark and frightening forests.

He let out a muffled wail, trying his best to kick and pull free, “Mmmm! Mmmm!”

“God fucking dammit Hank! Do you have any more of those drugs?!”

Shoving his hands deeper into Jesse’s mouth the other raider hissed, “I only brought enough to knock him out, he should have been out for hours.”

“Well obviously you didn’t get enough, you dumb fuck!”

“What’s what you say or I’ll- Augh!” ‘Hank’ screamed in pain as Jesse swung his head back smashing his skull into the raider’s nose. He dropped Jesse in an instant, clutching his bleeding nose and cursing in rage.

Jesse wrenched his legs free of the other male, rolling away before he could make a grab at him.

“Hey get back here!”

He kicked up gravel and snow as he scrambled up and away, “Get away from me!” he raced across the field, leaping over snow covered stumps and logs. “Someone help me!” he cried, “Anyone please!”

“Don’t let him get back to the city!”

His lungs gasped and strained to get oxygen in the freezing air, his screaming not helping the situation. But he had to get away from these people- whoever they were. His heart seized at the thought that these men might be with PAMA. They found him! They were going to take him away!

He hollered even louder, hoping to draw attention from one of the watchtowers. The city’s gate was on the far side of the wall, and he was still far from the wall itself, he wasn’t even sure if he could make it all the way there. “Someone  _ please!  _ HELP ME!”

“Catch him!”

“Come back here!”

“Help-AAAH!” Jesse screamed as another male slammed into him, pinning him against the nearby rock face. His head spun as he smashed into the rocks, the sharp edges cutting into his skin and tearing his jacket.

He struggled and twisted in the large man’s grip, slapping and punching, “Let me- ghk!” he gasped as the stranger gripped him tightly by the throat lifting him off the ground.

Jesse wheezed for air, his oxygen cut off and limited as the man tightened his grip around Jesse’s narrow neck. He whimpered, clawing weakly at the other’s hands, legs flailing and pushing against the mountain’s walls, trying to relieve the pressure.

The two men from before caught up, gasping and heaving for breath. They were joined by five more men, all of them grungy and filthy in their gear. Including the man choking Jesse they made a group of eight in all. Every single one of them wore similar gang marks on their jackets. 

They were raiders.

Jesse’s eyes watered as he pushed against the large arm holding him high in the air, “W-who- who- ghhh- why-”

The man before him wore dark goggles and a half faced bandana, making it difficult to identify him. But he chuckled to Jesse’s struggling words. He pulled down the mask and lifted the goggles giving Jesse a gapped tooth smile. “Hello pretty boy.”

Jesse choked out a gasp, “B-blake?!”

Blake laughed viciously and let Jesse drop, the male leaning against the rock heaving for air as oxygen rush into his lungs. Blake slammed his hands on either side of Jesse’s head, towering over him, “That’s right, it’s me.”

Jesse pressed against the stone, hoping for it to swallow him whole, but no such luck, “H-how- I you were  _ dead.” _

“That’s what you  _ like  _ to think,” Blake snarled, pulling a knife from his hip holster and slamming it into the stone beside Jesse’s head. The blade chipped the rock and Jesse flinched in terror. “You thought I was dead after you and your little team set me up! But I lived and followed you all the way here.”

“S-set you up?! I don’t understand!!” Jesse stammered out, “We didn’t set anyone up!”

He grabbed hold of Jesse’s jaw wrenched his head, “You played all sweet an’ innocent didn’t ya? Your group was all playing pretend, waiting for the right moment for your teammate to shoot my men. Then you looted em.” he twiddled the knife around Jesse’s cheek, “That’s what you were counting on.”

“What?! No we- ahhh!!” Jesse cried out as Blake sliced his cheek. The wound wasn’t deep, but it was long. Blood oozed out of the injury immediately running down the side of his face and dripping off his jaw.

“Stop lying!”

Jesse clenched his teeth through the pain, whimpering.

“Easy on his face Blake,” someone laughed, “Prostitutes don’t sell when their scared.”

“It’ll heal just fine,” Blake scoffed, running his finger along Jesse’s injury, smearing the blood along his skin.

“W-we were not setting you up.” Jesse whined out, “P-petra shot you not-”

“Petra! That bitch is with you?!

“No! I mean yes! She wasn’t but-”  Jesse jerked as the knife stabbed down by his head, “She wasn’t before. She shot you because you stole her stuff and - and-”

But Blake in a blind fury, “I fucking knew it! She was with you this whole.time!”

“No! NO! She- hhngh!”  his words were cut off as Blake slammed his hand back over Jesse’s throat.

“You and your little team set the whole thing up.”

Jesse clawed desperately at Blake’s arms, “We didn’t-”

“Don’t you touch me!” the raider leader swung his knife, slashing the tops of Jesse’s hands.

Jesse screamed in agony, hands immediately letting go. “Stop!” he sobbed.

“I ain’t falling for that again!” Blake spat, tightening his, “I don’t know what brothel your little friends yanked you out of, but you sure as hell ain’t the innocent little pretty boy you play to be.

Jesse continued to wheeze and gasp, tears running down his cheeks as he continued to choke. He weakly pushed his feet against Blake, trying to shove him off. 

“But now you’re all alone. I’m gonna show your team exactly what happens mess with the Dead Enders.” the raider leader hissed, slashing Jesse’s thighs and drawing a pained shriek from him, “Your team screwed with the wrong group.”

“W-we - hhh- were just trying-” Jesse wheezed. He gasped, bloody fingers clawing at Blake’s hands, “They-they’ll-”

“Oh they’ll get here alright,” Blake threatened, “And when they do, I’ll cut them to ribbons and turn them into the body harvesters. And you,” He slowly pushed the knife along Jesse’s ribs, deep enough to be agonizing, “You, I'm going to drop you a pleasure hole for a pretty penny.”

Jesse dissolved into tears, wailing in pain as the knife cut deep. Blake released his grip on Jesse’s throat, moving it up to cover his mouth. Jesse let out a muffled sob against the hand, the pain cutting into his will to struggle.

“Can’t have him too pretty,” another raider mocked, “They’ll think he’s fake!”

“Carve our logo on him!”

Blake leaned in, his foul breath invading Jesse’s flaring nose, “They’re gonna find you too late. They’re gonna find you lying here, and you’re gonna watch as my men blow their brains outs. Just like your team did to some of mine.”

Jesse whimpered, bloody tears running down his cheeks. He jerked again as the knife slid down his chest, cutting into his shirt. 

“What do you think it’s gonna look like pretty boy? Breaking your blond friend down?”

“It’s gonna look like this!”


	4. Metal Tattoo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A rough draft concept Aiden's backstory.
> 
> Obviously we went for the more detailed route and the tattooed scene was dropped all together.  
> But it still is a sweet sentiment.

 

Aiden leaned against the derelict building stifling sobs of pain; gripping the foreign replacement that was his arm.

He still struggled with the concept of it some days. _They_ took it, PAMA fucking amputated his-

He choked on another cry, sliding down the wall. His adrenaline was crashing the drugs and painkillers they kept him doped up on were fading. Aiden was crashing down and crashing hard.

“Hello?”

Aiden stiffened, looking down the trash filled alley as a door opened, light pouring out.

“Is someone out here?” a young female stepped out, looking around. She held a gun wary of intruders, spotting him almost immediately. “Aiden?”

He knew that voice, “P-petra?”

She walked over lowering the gun, “Where have you been?! Everyone’s been looking for you! You’re parents-”

“I already know.” Aiden’s voice cracked. “I- I know.”

He had gone to his house, didn’t take long for the neighbors to fill him in. But he couldn’t stay because of PAMA.

“What happened to you? Wait hold onto that. Come inside first it’s freezing.” she grabs his hand- it’s the metal one. There is the slightest of pause, but then Petra is pulling him inside.

She closes and bolts the door, Aiden standing there and taking in the warmth not realizing just how cold he was. Petra grabs a few blankets, and gets a bowl of something warm. She sits downs opposite of him as he settles into a chair.

“Thank you for this.”

“It's fine.”

“I don’t recognize this house,”

“It’s Jack’s.”

“Jack? As in the gunslinger.”

Petra pushed back her bang, “Yeah, you might remember I was going to him for work? I’m living here while he’s teaching me.”

Aiden took a bite of stew, struggling not to look starved out of his mind, “So you’re working the wastes now?”

“Pay can be good if you have skills. Better than being a PAMA dog.”

“Heh,” he glanced at his arm, “True. Where is Jack now?”

“Doing a job escorting a caravan. He will be gone for about two weeks. He took Nurm with him too.”

“Why didn’t he take you?”

Petra shrugged, “The caravan has to pass through the Acid Lakes, and I

guess there is a pack of enderman over there right now too.”

“I see.”

“Yeah…”

There was silence, just Aiden eating the stew and the occasional creak of the house. He tried not to cringe as his tender nerves cried out in protest every time the metal moved.

‘What happened?” Petra asked quietly. “You look awful. Your- your arm…..And Jesus you are _tall.”_

Aiden shifted his eyes away, gripping the metal. Could he tell her about PAMA? “There….there was an accident. I went out to the wastes to see if I could find anything to sell. I don’t recall what happened. I just woke up delirious and a good samaritan putting this on. He had me stay with him till I got better. I ran into a few creeps on the way home, which is why I look like shit currently.”

_You’re still delirious Aiden, what kinda weak ass lie was that?!_

Petra slowly nodded, “I see.”

Aiden flinched, “Lotta good going out there did for me…..Life’s worse now than it was before and now I’m down a fucking arm,” he looked away, “And _they’re_ gone too…..”

The ginger female was silent for a moment, he didn’t look at her. But he could feel her eyes on him, probably trying to dig around for the truth in all the turmoil and grief radiating off him.

But finally she got up, and took his empty bowl, “Why don’t you stay with me a few days.” she said.

Her voice was soft and gentle, not a usual Petra tone, but it was still Petra like, because she _wasn’t_ suggesting.

“I’d be grateful for that."

* * *

 

“Come on,”

“Where are we going?”

“To Nurm’s workshop on the other side of the house, now _shush_ you’ll see.”

The next few days had been spent with Aiden simply recovering and working himself back into the mindset that he was going to survive.

He didn’t leave the house at all, but more than once did he hear people talking beyond the walls of the home about the increased amount of PAMA employees around the area.

Aiden’s heart would race, and panic would rise. Were they looking for him? Would they kill him or take him back? He couldn’t- he _wouldn’t._

More than once when Petra was home, he’d catch her staring at the arm he now despised. It was a testament to his desperation, permanently there. But he’d see her looking at it, mumbling things to herself. She made no effort to act like she hadn’t been staring. Petra would smile and then go back to whatever she was doing.

“Lay down on the bench, set your arm on that table.”

He reluctantly obliged putting on a paint mask she handed to him. “What are you doing?”

“Helping you hate your arm less.”

He froze.

Petra pulled out a tool- a portable engraver- and sat down on a stool next to him. “Is that okay?”

“I- I don’t get it.”

“I see how you look at yourself in the mirror Aiden. I know you hate your arm.” she explained. She handed him a piece of paper, “I think you look really bad ass with it. But I was working on these designs….I thought- think of it as a metal tattoo.”

Aiden stared at the paper, a unfamiliar warmth blossoming inside him. He stared at the sketches. “You….wow.”

“Do you like them?”

“Yeah.”

“We don’t have-”

“No let’s do it!” Aiden returned the paper, “I’d really like that.”

Petra smiled and out on her mask, “We’ll paint it black when we’re done.”

“Sounds wicked. Thanks so much for this.”

She winked and set to work, hands running skillfully along the smooth metal as it spark and smoked under the engraver pen.

Aiden leaned back, resting his cheek on his flesh hand; watching her work. Her eyebrows furrowing together, her tongue pressing against the paint mask as she focused on her project. He felt that strange warmth again, pooling inside and blossoming on his cheeks.

“Petra?”

“Hmm?” she had to raise her voice over the metal screeching.

"Thanks."


	5. Aiden'a Trauma

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An alternate draft that would have gone with Metal Tattoo.  
> In this Aiden tells what happened to him in detail, instead of our own narrative.  
> It came across as less effective in emotions but we are still very fond of the sunset scene. Even though later on we decided sunsets and sunrises were a rare gift.  
> Enjoy!

Jesse knocked softly on the door, “Aiden?”

“Yeah?” 

“Can….can I come in?”

Jesse hears the male sigh, then after a moment, “Yeah go ahead.” 

Jesse opens the door and sees Aiden leaning against the sink in the small bathroom in the corner of the bedroom. The brunet is gingerly treating one of his wounds, a glass cut underneath his jaw. Jesse cringed, his own body having healed and cleared all evidence of their ordeal.

“What can I do for you?” Aiden mumbled as he leaned closer to the mirror to see better.

“I just...thank you, again. For saving me back there.”

“You’re welcome. Again.”

“I know we don’t always get along and -”

“Jesse.” Aiden paused from his tending, “It’s  _ fine.” _

Jesse flinched feeling his courage leaving and slowly headed for the door. “Thank you. Really. You have no idea how grateful I am.”

Through the smudged mirror reflection, Jesse watched Aiden’s eyes flash in pain, his metal fingers clenching. “You would have done it for me too,” he said quietly, placing a patch on his jaw with his good arm.

Jesse closed the door, but not before watching as Aiden reached up, rubbing his left shoulder. Right where the metal met the flesh.

* * *

 

It took Jesse two more days to work up the nerve to tell Aiden what he really wanted to say, what he wanted to  _ know.  _

Aiden was on the roof of the bunker, legs dangling over the edge as he looked off at the rare sunset in the distance.

Jesse closed the roof door behind him, and he saw Aiden stiffen- just a bit. He crossed the gravel roof and settled down next to the male. He wrapped his arms around his knees.

“Hey.”

Aiden gave a slight nod of the head, but didn’t look away from the scenery. “Hey….”

Silence.

Jesse turned to look at the view, admiring the blood reds and oranges that painted the horizon. The clouds were a rare pink and purple; not their usual blacks and dark greens. “The sunset is beautiful…”

“We don’t get them often.”

“We didn’t get sunsets like this back…. Back in my time.” Jesse admitted.

Aiden scowled, “It's all the poison in the air.”

“Yeah……”

Silence once more took its claim.

Jesse nervously bit his lip, hands tightening around his jeans. He opened his mouth-

“What is it Jesse.”

“W-what?”

“You’ve been trying to get me alone for two days now. What is it?”

Jesse rested his mouth against his pants, “I need to know.”

“Know what?”

“Why you didn’t leave me there….”

Aiden cringes.

Jesse bites his lips, “I  _ am _ grateful Aiden,you have no idea. But….I-”

“You wanna know why I’d help you after I’ve been trying to get rid of you.”

“We haven’t exactly seen eye to eye.” Jesse admitted, “You didn’t want to help, and I just always assumed you hated me and-”

“I don’t hate you Jesse,” Aiden sighed, finally looking at him, “I never did. You were never the problem. PAMA was the problem.”

Jesse went wide eyed. “PAMA?”

“You weren’t the only one fucked up by them…” Aiden said quietly looking down.

Jesse saw the male was rubbing his mechanic arm. He gasped, “Oh my God, you’re arm?! They did that to you?!”

“More than that.” The male mumbled.

“Lukas told me you lost it in the wastes.”

“I lied. I never told anybody what really happened.”

Jesse paused. “Do….I mean…..”

Aiden was quiet for a moment. Then, “I was about fourteen. Winter was coming and...well you know how bad it gets here. My family didn’t have a lot of money. My mom was sick with radiation sickness and no one would hire my dad. We wouldn’t make the winter…” he cringed.

“I met up with a guy who promised to hook me into a smuggling job with PAMA. Everyone in Beacon Town knew PAMA was bad news. But I was desperate we needed the money, my mom was  _ dying  _ and…... So I accepted his proposal. I remember the night was cold, it was foggy too and I just- I went to the alley where we were supposed to meet. I got jumped. There was this smell and it all went dark.”

Jesse’s breath hitched.

Aiden reached up grabbing his metal arm with shaking fingers. His lip quivered his eyes clouded by the memory, “I woke up strapped to a table. T-they had already taken my arm.”

“Oh God….”

“They tricked at least a hundred people all around my age, kidnapped them and took them to a hidden facility. We were broken down into two testing groups. Prosthetic testing and body enhancements. I was a part of a few chosen for cross testing. They amputated me first. All around me after I woke up kids were screaming as they realized what was gone. Legs, thighs, arms, hands, even parts of your mid section. One girl, they took everything below the waist, she woke up screaming. She didn’t stop, they broke her mind right out the gate. She-she passed out and never woke up.”

He let out a choked laugh, “Heh, guess she was a lucky one. Thinking back on it, I was out the whole time they removed my limb, but the prosthetic...Oh God.” Aiden squeezed his eyes shut, “They chose one for me that had to be connected to my muscles and nerves. They had to have me awake. They couldn’t numb a thing. I was screaming so long I couldn’t speak again for days. I screamed, begged,  _ cried.  _ But- but they wouldn’t stop.”

“I was there weeks, months? I don’t really know. But just when I thought it couldn’t get worse they began the body enhancement serums…..Over fifty kids were in those tests….At least  _ one  _ died a day. Everything they injected me with hurt like fire. My body burned and I wanted so badly to die. But they just, kept,  _ coming. _ ” 

“They have to keep me strapped down; gag me because I tried to bite. But they always won the fight in the end. Soon I had enhancements for almost everything. My vision was sharper, my hearing, speed, strength. All of it. I went into this numb state of mind. I just...was gone.” Aiden went quiet.

“Aiden?”

“One last test they said. Between me and a nineteen year old male. It was supposed to be a mental ….” Aiden’s eyes were glassy, like he was back in that ancient nightmare already detached. “They did him first. He started to scream. That was normal, you got used to the screaming. Then he started to heave, bleed out the ears, mouth, nose- He- He-” his voice cracked, “He looked at me, and he was crying.  _ He didn’t want to die. _ But he did. He vomited blood and everything and he died. Right there in front of me.”

Aiden’s hands clenched, “I lost it. I broke free of the table, and killed everyone in the room. Killed them with the weapons they forced onto me.”

Jesse’s mind wandered back to the bunker, and how Aiden crushed the throat of one of the guards; evidence of his strength.

“I managed to escape and get myself back to Beacon Town.” the male sighed, “My dad had died looking for me and my mother had succumbed to her sickness. PAMA took everything in the end. I told everyone there had been an accident while I was scavenging the wastes and a good samaritan spent all my time gone fixing me. No one was told the truth and I kept my enhancements a secret. I didn’t want PAMA to find me.”

“I wish I had known,” Jesse whispered, “Aiden I’m sorry.”

“I didn’t hate you! I was scared, scared of going back! I was just looking out for me!” Aiden hastily got up, frustration and emotion trapped in his eyes. “I couldn’t leave you on that table because- because I saw  _ me. _ I saw what they would do.”

Jesse followed after, “Aiden!”

“I didn’t bother telling anyone after we found you, because who cares?! It happened a long time ago. It was my desperation that put me there.”

“Aiden wait!”

“I don’t expect you to understand Jesse. I just….I couldn’t see you-”

“Aiden!” Jesse caught the retreating  male’s hand.

He looked at him, “What?!”

“I understand,” Jesse said.

Aiden froze.

Jesse squeezed his hand, “I understand. All of it. I am so so sorry this happened to you, and wish I could have been there to rescue you when you needed someone.”

The other stared.

Jesse squeezed again taking a step closer. “I understand.” he repeated.

Then, just like that, Aiden’s walls crumbled and the emotions he didn’t allow himself to feel came pooling up. Tears built up and Aiden slowly sank to his knees with a soft cry.

Jesse followed the male down, wrapping his arms around the heaving shoulders, “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.”

He held Aiden and they both cried, giving in to the traumas neither had been allowed to grieve over.

“I understand.”

  
  



End file.
